Instructor: Dr. Phil Schlosser Course Coordinator:Rosy Bellamy

Office: Room 221 Hitchcock Hall Email:

Email:

COURSE WEBSITE

INTRODUCTION

This course enables students to cultivate an introductory perspective ofsustainability. Natural resources such as fossil fuels, fresh water, arable land and fish are rapidly depleting. Therefore, it is important for students to develop an appreciation for the significance and necessity of sustainability. This includes identifying environmental problems, understanding the importance of sustainability to society and the environment, and developing solutions.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Overall the goal of the class is to provide students with a broad view of sustainability,with the opportunity to see sustainability through various perspectives. Speakers from different areas of expertise will present on a variety of sustainability topics so students can better understand why sustainability is both important and complex.

By the end of the course, students will be able to better understand sustainability and how it relates to their majors and interests. We hope that students will be enabled and motivated to apply sustainability concepts in their careers.

COURSE FORMAT

The seminar is offered for one S/U credit hour and will meet once each week for one hour and twenty minutes. Each week a different faculty member or industry professional will speak on their field of expertise in sustainability for about an hour followed by a question and answer period. Lectures are interactive including both participation as well as discussion.

At the end of the semester, students willdevelop a group presentation on sustainability on a topic of their interest.

ATTENDANCE

Attendance is mandatory as all of the classes will be lectures by and discussions with experts that cannot be made-up simply by reading through the slides. The slides will be posted on Carmen if possible.

INSTRUCTOR’S BIO

Dr. Phil Schlosser is a scientist, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur who earned a B.Sc. degree in Engineering Physics with a minor in Electrical Engineering and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the Ohio State University. Early in his career, Dr. Schlosser was a professor of Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering at OSU where he taught courses and managed sponsored research programs. He holds 22 U.S. and foreign patents for inventing various electronic devices and systems such as the Scriptel electronic digitizer. Over the past 30 years, he has started several successful electronics companies in central Ohio. In addition to his business interests, he teaches a Seminar on Creativity and Innovation and courses in the First-Year Engineering Program at The Ohio State University.

ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly Journals will be assigned on Carmen to rate the quality of the speaker and leave valuable feedback.These journals also act as a form of attendance as students should only take the quizzes for classes they attended.

At the end of the semester, students will work in groups to present on a specific sustainability topic that interests them. The guidelines are listed below for this final oral presentation:

  1. Students will brainstorm different sustainability topics and then vote on the top 10 topics. Example topics include:geothermal energy at OSU and vertical farming. Students will then rank the top 3 topics they find most interesting. Groups will be assigned based on this ranking.
  2. Oral presentations last approximately 10 minutes (time may change depending on class size) to be presented by groups of 3-4 people each (time includes Q & A). You can use 3x5 notecards if needed.
  3. This is an open-ended project/presentation. It is an opportunity to learn and share information not covered by the guest speakers. This project is meant to be a way for you to think about why and how you can apply this knowledge to your careers and interests. Be as creative as you want! Make it a clear, professional, and informative presentation.

GRADING

The course is graded S/U according to the OSU scale. Final grades are based on the following:

  • Research Project and Oral Presentation (30% team +30% individual score) 60%
  • Weekly Journal Quizzes40%

Since this is an attendance-based class, not showing up the first week of class will result in you being dropped from the course. Please be sure to e-mail any planned absences to the instructor or course coordinator.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Each student is expected to submit original material. Evidence that any written or electronic material submitted was copied verbatim from printed or electronic sources, or was written by someone other than the individual student constitutes academic misconduct. Any instance of academic misconduct will be reported to the Committee on Academic Misconduct and dealt with accordingly.

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Students with special needs or disabilities certified by the Office for Disability Services are welcome in the course and will be accommodated appropriately. Any such student should contact the instructor as soon as possible to discuss alternative methods for preparing assignments and participating in the classroom.

SCHEDULE

Week / Date / Topic / Assignment Due
1 / Aug 31 / Course Introduction -Dr Schlosser / -
2 / Sep 7 / No Class- Labor Day / -
3 / 14 / Aparna Dial / Weekly Journal
4 / 21 / Dr Neil Drobny / Weekly Journal
5 / 28 / Prof BhavikBakshi / Weekly Journal
6 / Oct 5 / Brainstorming Day / Weekly Journal
7 / 12 / Jack Hedge / Weekly Journal
8 / 19 / Dr Zuzana Boherova / Weekly Journal
9 / 26 / Dr Shawn Midlam-Mohler / Weekly Journal
10 / Nov 2 / Prof Betty Lise Anderson / Weekly Journal
11 / 9 / Guest Speaker 8 / Weekly Journal
12 / 16 / In class work day for presentations / Weekly Journal
13 / 23 / Group Presentations / Weekly Journal
14 / 30 / Group Presentations / Submit PowerPoint
15 / Dec 7 / Finals Week - No class